BV 4017 
.C55 
Copy 1 



BEHAVIOUR OF PASTORS 

IN THE ;.. 

CHURCH OF THE LIVING COD, 

A SERMON. 

PRICE ONE SHILLING, 



, 



BEHAVIOUR OF PASTORS 

IN rHE 

CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD. 

A SERMON, 

PREACHED m FORRES, 

% 

BEFORE THE 

PROVINCIAL SYNOD OF MORAY, 

AT THEIR ANNUAL MEETING, APRIL 24, 1845, 
BY THE 

REV. ALEXANDER CLARK, A.M., 

ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF INVERNESS. 



PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SYNOD. 



INVERNESS: 

MESSRS J. SMITH, K. DOUGLAS, D. MORRISON, & D. FRASER. 

EDINBURGH: W. OLIPHANT & CO. 

1846. 



ftO^ 



-&££ 



TO 



THE VERY REVEREND 

THE PROVINCIAL SYNOD OF MORAY, 

THE FOLLOWING 

SERMON, 

PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST, 

is 

WITH MUCH RESPECT INSCRIBED, 

BY 

THEIR BROTHER IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS, 

ALEXANDER CLARK. 






BEHAVXOUK 



CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, 



I. Timothy, iii. 15. 
" BUT IF I TARRY LONG, THAT THOU MAYEST KNOW HOW THOU 
t)UGHTEST TO BEHAVE THYSELF IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, WHICH IS THE 
-CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH." 



When the worldliness, violence, pride, and tyranny of eccle- 
siastics, in later ages, were in the most awful contrast with the 
spirituality, devotedness, benevolence, meekness, and humility 
of those who held office in the primitive Church, it came to be 
vehemently contended, that men who had not the faintest re- 
semblance to the character and gifts of the Apostles, had 
succeeded to their authority over the followers of Christ. 
From this sprung the atrocious spectacle of Churches animated 
by principles altogether opposed to the mind of Christ, pro- 
fessing to cast out of communion with His body, those who 
were really followers of His example, and sealed by His spirit. 
In their peculiar office the Apostles had no successors, ne 
teachers, inspired like them, having been raised up since they 
were removed from a life in which they suffered much for Him 
whose name they bore. Paul did not consider that Timothy 
should be left to follow his own light, or act according to his 
own will — though he had been placed by himself in a position 
where he was called to preside over a large portion of the 
Christian Church, and was, besides, a man of eminent holiness 
and attainments. He, therefore, guided by the spirit of 
Ohrist, wrote to him two epistles, full of important directions, 
for the execution of the ministry committed to him, which 
;they who are called to be office-bearers in the Church would 



do well to ponder seriously. The reason why Paul wrote this 
epistle is distinctly stated in the words of our text — " That 
thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the 
House of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the 
pillar and ground of the truth.'' 

These words place in a very solemn light the standing of 
those who are office-bearers in this society ; and, in consider- 
ing them, there rise to our view two subjects to which they 
especially call our attention— I. The position in which the 
Pastors in the Church are placed ; and II. The behaviour 
required of the Pastors in the Church. To each of these, it 
is my purpose, briefly, to direct your attention, as matter of 
deep interest to myself and to all who may hear me ; for, 
while many would place pastors in a position they were never 
designed to occupy, not a few are in danger of forgetting the 
position in which they are really standing. Let us consider — > 

I. The position in which the Pastors in the Church are 
placed. The Church of Christ is necessarily divided into 
sections, from the very circumstances in which mankind are 
placed in this world — separated from each other by oceans, 
climates, and languages. Thus they are divided from each 
other by the limits which mark out the several nations of 
men. This sectional division is no more opposed to the unity 
of the Church, than the division into provinces and families 
is destructive of a kingdom's unity. There are also divi- 
sions which have been produced by causes connected with 
the spiritual part of man. As long as all men are not pos- 
sessed of the same grasp of intellect, matters which appear 
quite manifest to some will not appear so to others. Thus, 
men " holding the Head," and agreeing in the great outline 
of revealed truth, may be divided from one another by their 
different views on various subjects. This class of sectional divi- 
sions do, after all, no more destroy the unity of the Church 
than the inequalities and seeming oppositions in the external 
world interfere with the unity of its system and design. 
Pastors of churches would do well to remember that, if sent 
forth by Christ to his harvest, they stand in immediate rela- 
tion to the whole of that Church, which He bought with His 
sacred blood. It is in this view that Paul describes the position 
of Timothy, in language applicable only to the universal Church. 



Pastors are, like him, " in the House of God, which is the 
Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 
The various views given of the Church in these striking words, 
impressively point out the solemn nature of the situation in 
which its office-bearers stand. 

1. Pastors are placed in that which is described as the 
" House of God." The Church is often represented by the 
inspired writers as being a "temple," "house," "building," 
or " habitation," erected by God; and its members as " living 
stones" in that erection; and Jesus Christ as the " chief cor- 
ner-stone," the " foundation," the " altar," and the " High 
Priest." The magnificent ceremonies of the ancient law were 
intended to represent the spiritual glories of a later dispensa- 
tion, and derive their greatest value from shadowing forth the 
mysteries of Incarnate Deity, and of that " House" in which 
He shall forever dwell. Each individual sinner, turned from 
darkness to light, becomes a new stone, laid on this building, 
and those filling the highest, as well as those filling the most 
subordinate places there, are necessary for the beauty and sta- 
bility of the entire fabric. Stones removed from their proper 
places weaken and disfigure the whole : pointing to each mem- 
ber of the Church the importance of knowing his own proper 
sphere, and of faithfully occupying it ; and showing the danger 
of jostling any of the members out of that particular position 
for which he was designed. It is a mournful contemplation, to 
consider how extensively this " House" has been injured, in every 
age, by the self-love of too many of its members, causing them, 
instead of each fulfilling the duty of his own sphere, to be seen 
labouring to raise themselves higher, by trampling on the 
rights of others, regardless of the confusion thus caused in 
the "building." But the day is hastening apace, when all 
these disorders will be rectified in a better world, and this 
" temple," without any blemish, cemented by fervent love, will 
reflect the glory of its Great Builder through the rolling ages 
of eternity — exhibiting greater demonstrations of His unsearch- 
able wisdom than all the material universe. The building of 
this " House" is God ; and its gradual completion is the great 
object contemplated by His Providence, in the government of 
this changing world, whose days are destined to close at the 



6 

same period when its topstone shall be brought forth with jot, 
amidst loud shouts of " grace, grace unto it." 

This " House of God" is continually inhabited by Him dur- 
ing the progress of its erection, as it will be in a more visible 
manner after its final completion. He inhabits it after a 
peculiar way : for not only does the whole Church form His 
" dwelling place," but He inhabits each individual as His 
" temple," who forms a part of this building. How ought the 
members of the Church to conduct themselves, since so ma- 
jestic a presence is continually with them, minutely observing 
their standing, and how they fulfil its duties? And how 
secure must that " House" be, over which Infinite Power con- 
tinually watches, whatever vicissitudes may occur in this chang- 
ing life? Visible Churches, once holding the highest name, 
have disappeared ; even those founded by Apostles have sunk in 
darkness, and left no trace behind ; but this Church, embracing, 
as it does, all in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells, shall endure 
until the sounding of the last trumpet. Professed followers of 
Christ have often openly indulged in tempers the very opposite 
of those which He enjoins ; but none are stones in this House 
but they w T hose names "are written in the Lamb's Book of 
Life" ; even they who " walk in love," and of whom it is written 
— " he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 
How valueless must the applause or censure of men be, to him 
who feels that it is true of the House in which he is privileged 
to hold a humble place, that " God is there ?" 

2. Pastors are placed in that which is described as " the 
Church of the Living God." Many and angry disputations 
have prevailed among mankind, as to what is the true Church. 
Some have zealously endeavoured to fix this name on what is, 
after all, only a part of the Church of God ; and others have 
as zealously endeavoured to fix this name on what is really 
the " synagogue of Satan." The Church of God, as its very 
name implies in the original language in which these words 
were written, means, the " called" — an expression often used 
in the Holy Scriptures, to denote individuals standing in a par- 
ticular relation to God. The " called" are they who not only 
have heard the Word of God, but who have obeyed its invitation, 
and been thus " called," from the darkness and bondage of 
their natural state, into the light and freedom of the children 



of God. Men may embrace on human authority a certain set of 
religious opinions, and they may become active and zealous for 
upholding and extending certain religious sects and parties, 
and, after all, they may have never been the " called of Jesus 
Christ." Taking the description of those who are thus " called," 
as given in the inspired Word, it is fearful to think how small a 
number of them can be found among parties who have fiercely 
contended with each other in the arena of religious controversy. 
And if all the visible Churches, now existing, would but con- 
sider how few among them are the living members of Christ, 
their time might be directed to matters of far greater utility 
than the bitter wrangling and useless debates in which they 
are so apt to indulge, about carnal ordinances and doctrines of 
men. The Church of Christ is one and undivided, and contains 
within it people of different customs, remote countries, and 
various natural distinctions. It consists of all who hear the 
Word of God and believe it, and in whom, as the centre of their 
unity, Christ dwells, the "hope of glory." There may be 
Churches whose creed is sound, whose external order is correct, 
and in which scarcely any are found answering this description. 
And, after all, what signifies it what external form we may have 
adopted, or what external name we have received, if Christ 
shall at last say we are none of " His" ? 

This Church is not named after any man, or any country, 
or any section of men — including, as it does, people of every age 
and of every region, and of various names ; — but it is termed 
the Church of the Living God, to indicate that all its members 
are distinguished by their being united as members of His re- 
deemed family — to Him who lives for ever more, unchanging 
and unchangeable. The kingdoms of men rise and fall like 
the foam upon the waters ; the human parties, into which the 
Church has been often divided, live their short day, and are 
swallowed in oblivion ; but the connection between the Living God 
and the Church He has ransomed to himself, shall last for ever. 
Men whose sole anxiety it was to promote the glory of the 
spot of earth which they called their country, or the ascend- 
ancy of the religious party with which they were identified, 
will find all their labour, however painful, ending in vanity, 
when they reach that world where the objects for which they 
contended have no place at all. But the labour which was 



spent in promoting the great objects of the Church of God will 
produce fruits enduring as eternity. The object for which this 
Church, in all ages, contends, is not to add to the many causes 
of human hate already existing, but to unite man to man, by 
uniting man to God. To occupy the lowest place in this Church 
is a higher distinction than to be placed on the most glittering 
pinnacle to which earthly ambition ever aspired. And anxious 
ought all to be, who are placed in situations of trust in such a 
society as this, to fulfil the duties assigned to them by Him 
who watches over it with the most tender solicitude. Injury 
has been permitted in every age to arise to the Church of God 
from unfaithfulness and ignorance within, as well as from the 
aggression of open enemies without. But, though God has not 
seen fit to prevent these evils, sore have been the tokens of 
displeasure He has given to those by whom they have been 
occasioned. Those who hold office in a community, indis- 
solubly connected with the Living God, ought never to forget 
the holy nature of the ground on which they stand. 

3. Pastors are placed in that which is described as " the 
pillar and ground of the truth." The statement, that the 
Church is 'Hhe pillar and ground of the truth," has been more 
than once perverted, as if it was intended to raise the Church 
above the Word from which all its authority is derived. Few 
things, when narrowly examined, appear more utterly absurd 
than this. Human opinions and judgments, however eminent 
may be the names by which they are supported, are only those 
of fallible creatures ; but every word proceeding from the mouth 
of God is absolute truth, without any mixture of error. All 
other sentiments are true, only in so far as they accord with 
His. It is, therefore, that all which He has revealed is styled 
not merely true, but " the truth ;" as being portions of that 
unchanging verity by which, as the ultimate test, all doctrines 
of men, however eminent or numerous, must be tried. The 
statement, that the Church is " the pillar and ground of the 
truth," though it has been perverted to purposes altogether 
impious, is itself a truth of no small importance. The " pillar 
and ground" denotes that on which " the truth" stands, by 
which it is upheld and presented for observation, and by which 
its light, proceeding from an elevation, is enabled to spread 
more extensively over the dark and stormy waters of human 



9 

life. It is like " the ground and pillar" on which a beacon 
stands, shining far oyer the ocean, and guiding voyagers to 
shun the dangers by which they are environed, and to reach 
the haven of true rest. The Church is, therefore, of the 
utmost importance to the world, out of which it has been 
called, and from which it is commanded to live separate. The 
more it maintains an erect position, and the more elevated the 
position is, the more extensively does the truth diffuse its light, 
to direct the tempest-driven to the only refuge of sinners. 
Had it so pleased Him, God could reveal His truth to each 
human being individually ; but, instead of this, He has seen it 
right to erect on the earth a Church, as a sacred depository 
of " the truth" which originally descended from heaven ; and 
He has charged this Church to preserve this truth, and to dif- 
fuse its illumination over the lost race of man. And evils, such 
as eternity only can develope, attend the obscuration of the 
light Which " the truth" was intended to diffuse over the 
dwellings of earth, by whatever cause that obscuration has 
been produced. 

No man can estimate too highly the vast importance of the 
functions discharged by the Church, in diffusing the light of 
truth among the fallen inhabitants of the earth. One soul is 
of more value than the whole of this material world; and 
what must be the worth of that light, which can direct such a 
being to avoid the perils where many souls are cast away, and 
to reach the source where alone eternal salvation may be 
found? The extinction of this light in any country is the 
most formidable of all the evils which can befal it. No events 
in this world produce consequences more momentous, than those 
which proceed from the extension or diminution of the range 
over which " the truth" shines. The shining of " the truth" 
upon a region is like the dawning of celestial mercy on its in- 
habitants ; and the withdrawal of " the truth" from human 
eyes may indeed be considered as the setting of the sun of 
hope. And the progress of " the truth" on the earth will be 
found, in every age, to have been accelerated or retarded by 
the condition of the Church. If the Church decays in spiritual 
life, the extension of the doctrine of Christ in the world de- 
clines at the same time; and, when the Church advances in 
spiritual life, the doctrine of Christ extends, and the number 



10 

of His subjects increases. Each member of the Church con- 
tributes to its progress or decline, in proportion to the place he 
occupies in it, and thus contributes to the light or darkness 
spreading over the world, and tending to the safety or ruin of 
millions of immortal beings. How solemn is the situation oc- 
cupied by pastors in such a society, where, by slumbering at 
their post, they not only endanger the loss of their own souls, 
and of the souls of those who hear them, but add, in a large 
degree, to the obscuration of the light, which prevents it from 
reaching those who are literally " sitting in darkness." 

In every visible Church, which has yet existed, there have 
been pastors who were never sent forth by Christ; and it is by 
them, usually, that those unholy animosities have been most 
promoted, by which the members of the same redeemed family 
have been led to appear before the world as angry and bitter 
enemies to each other. To such minds, the little distinctions 
of earthly parties seem far more important than the broad 
demarcation which separates those who are in Christ, of every 
name, from a world of which it is written, that, under all its 
modifications, it lies in wickedness. But the pastors whom 
Christ has sent forth, while connected with particular portions 
of the visible Church, are all of them in a still closer relation 
to that Church, which includes all who shall finally meet in the 
same celestial home. It is this which gives the highest dignity, 
and the most solemn importance, to their office. The names given 
by the most splendid sectarianism of earth are destined to melt 
away amidst the conflagration of this world, which gave them 
all their importance. But the connection existing between souls, 
and the Church for which Jesus died, is destined, at that hour 
of confusion and despair, to appear in its most refulgent glory, 
when all its members stand on His right hand, each like the 
glorious person whom alone they owned as their Lord, and 
bearing no distinctive name, but the name of Christ. Then, 
men will fully understand what is meant by being pastors in 
" the House of God" ; " the Church of the Living God" ; " the 
pillar and ground of the truth." And it will be matter of pro- 
found astonishment, how men, professing to know the truth, 
could have been so perverted by narrow-minded bigotry, as to 
esteem others more, because associated with names, and dis- 



11 

rputes, and sects — then forgotten — than because associated with 
that society, whom Christ himself shall own as the purchased 
by His blood, and the objects of His eternal love. Let us next 
consider — 

II. The behaviour required of the Pastors in the Church, 
That the members of a society such as this ought to look well 
to their deportment, is a truth, which appears abundantly clear 
to all who have any understanding of the nature of the position 
in which they are placed. The welfare of such a society de- 
pends, more than that of many others, on the state of the in- 
dividuals of whom it is composed. When spiritual life is in a 
decaying state with them, and the fire of love is waxing cold, 
then the Church exhibits a languishing aspect, and ceases to 
answer, with any vigour, the end of its erection. But pastors 
have far more responsibilities than ordinary members, in such 
a state of things. They may do much, by compliance with the 
tastes and opinions, which become unhappily prevalent in a 
declining Church, to urge forward the slumber into which it is 
falling. And God has done much by them in every age, to 
revive the decaying life and energies of the followers of Christ. 
When profound sleep seemed reigning on every side, the faith- 
ful exertions of one or two pastors have not seldom been seen 
awakening an entire region. These were men who cared 
nothing for the opposition they encountered, strong in the 
armour of truth, and animated by the presence of their God. 
The knowledge of what individual pastors have done, while 
eminently adapted to encourage those who hold this important 
office, is also calculated, in no small degree, to call up feelings 
of serious responsibility. In looking around us at this moment, 
how much might we have done to remedy the evils we deplore, 
and to extend among men the kingdom of our honoured 
Master ? Who knows the influence which may be wielded by a 
single soul, when really filled with divine love, and directed by 
the spirit of Christ, against the ungodliness of the world and the 
nominal religion of the day ? The more we see what might be 
done, the greater reason we all have to be deeply humbled in 
considering how little we have done in our time. What, then, 
is the deportment required of pastors, in the influential position 
they occupy ? 

1. Pastors are required to exert themselves to maintain tke 



12 

unity of the Church. The Church is, in this world, placed in 
a militant position. It is assailed on every side by a variety 
of dangers ; and it is called to wage war for the spiritual eman- 
cipation of mankind, against the powers of darkness, and the 
influences they direct. Disunion must, therefore, be to it the 
source of manifold weakness, as it has always been to societies 
of less importance. The Church, disunited, is soon filled with 
internal discord ; its members turning against each other the 
energies they ought to have put forth against their common 
enemies. Brotherly love decays, and is extensively supplanted 
by a sectarian feeling, which inculcates love to those bearing 
the badge of human parties, instead of love to those who are " in 
Christ." Collisions of religious sects often lead to calumnies, 
slanders, falsehoods, animosities, railings, and other evils, pro- 
duced by the strife of human passions. Men come to rejoice more 
in the increase of their own party, or in the filling of their own 
little church, than in the extension of the kingdom of Christ, 
or in the filling of His " House." And, in order to accomplish 
what, after all, are but earthly objects, professed followers of 
Christ are led to connive at, if not openly to encourage, say- 
ings, and actings, and feelings, which grieve the Holy Spirit, 
and plunge souls in perdition. It was no wonder then, that, 
with His pitying eyes fixed on the numerous train of evils 
flowing from dissension, the blessed Redeemer earnestly 
prayed that His followers might be " one." One in senti- 
ment, in every minute and unimportant particular, they never 
can be, so long as they are inhabitants of a world such as this, 
and possess minds so unequal in intellectual strength. But one 
they ought to be, in bowing in all things to the authority of 
the Son of God, and in fervently loving all who love Him. 
This union will exhibit the power of true Christianity more 
strikingly than if all embraced the same opinions, down to the 
minutest particular. It is not extraordinary that men should 
love those who think on all things the same as they do. But 
to see men of hostile countries, varying interests, and conflict- 
ing opinions, bound together by the same love, is a result 
beyond the power of human instrumentality, and accomplished 
only by the hand of God. 

To trace the causes of disunion among the people of Christ 
would lead to a lengthened investigation — laying open some 



13 

of the strangest workings in the deceitfulness of the human 
heart. Men come to be violently attached to some peculiar form 
of ecclesiastical order, which is not to be found distinctly pre- 
scribed in any part of the inspired Word ; and they treat as 
enemies of Christ all who embrace a different order, and per- 
suade large numbers of confiding followers, that, in contending 
for the order to which their human leaders are devoted, they 
are labouring to establish the order prescribed by the Son of 
God. Others, in considering exclusively one doctrine of " the 
truth," have come to expound it in such a manner as com- 
pletely to annihilate other portions of the same inspired testi- 
mony ; and these men of one idea, meeting with others of the 
same character, but who have fixed their eyes on another doc- 
trine, which is also only a portion of revelation, fill the world 
with noisy controversy, while there is no real difference between 
them ; both equally erring in not having taken a sufficiently 
extended view of the entire system revealed by God. And there 
are not a few who, stumbling on an erroneous sentiment, long 
since refuted, are struck with its novelty and strangeness ; and 
the pride produced by the fancied discovery leads to a keen 
assertion of what is only an ancient error, and to a violent 
assault on all by whom it is impugned — however venerable in 
station or eminent in holiness. To pursue this subject would 
lead to a variety of melancholy contemplations, but all leading 
to the same result — that divisions in the Church have been 
caused by the varied operations of that depravity which strives 
to make man a god to himself, and leads him to aspire to oc- 
cupy the place of God in the hearts of others. What a large 
number of the contentions which have agitated the Church 
would never have existed, if men had not made that a part of 
Christianity which has no place in the Scriptures : and if men 
had kept in their view the whole of that system of revealed 
truth — all whose parts are inseparably connected together: and 
if men had always remembered that they sin when contending 
for religion itself, with feelings and weapons such as the Gospel 
expressly condemns, and the Spirit of Christ disowns. We 
shall best promote the cause of Christian unity, by distinctly 
holding forth in our public teaching the characteristics by which 
the people of Christ are known, and managing with meekness, 
charity, and kindness, any controversies we are called to wage 



14 

with those in whom these characteristics appear; but espe- 
cially by inculcating, wherever our influence extends, that 
without that " love" of which the Apostles speak, and which 
is the uniform result of saving faith, the most splendid gifts, 
the soundest doctrine, and the most exact outward order, are 
but the embellishments of human corruption and dangerous 
fascinations in the road which leads to irretrievable ruin. 

But, while it is our duty to do what lies in us to heal the 
divisions which are rending asunder the body of Christ, we 
must not give way to the feelings which unbelief insinuates, 
and which lead to repine at the ways of God, by whom these 
evils are permitted. When the cause of religion seemed pros- 
perous on every side, the bursting forth of division in the 
Church, and the torrent of evils it carries along with it, pro- 
duces a state of mind peculiarly painful, from the deep disap- 
pointment thus occasioned. But God permits these divisions 
as he permits the breaking out of fearful sins — intending to 
over-rule them for the holy ends of His government, by which 
He constrains the wrath of man to praise Him. In the midst 
of great external quiet, men are extremely apt to mistake the 
form for the substance of religion ; but the extent of unholy 
passions, called forth by the excitement of religious contro- 
versy, soon discovers how possible it is to have the profession 
of religion widely extended over a country with very little of 
the power of godliness, or of the mind which was in Christ, 
It is absolute ruin to pass to our final audit with only a " name 
to live;" and it is in pity that God permits trying occasions 
to occur which discover a state like this, while still it may be 
remedied. And, though it is well to maintain in a becoming 
manner the views which we consider right, in times of dissen- 
sion, it is still better, when these produce undeniable evidence 
of the low state of real religion, to be led to labour more 
zealously than ever to lead lost sinners to that union to the 
Son of God, without which the most shining religious profes- 
sion is only the garnishing of the sepulchre, within which the 
rottenness of corruption reposes undisturbed. But, while these 
divisions tend to discover the actual state of religion in the 
world, they furnish no obscure evidence that Christianity owes 
its continuance on the earth, as well as its origin, to the power 
of God, Had it been a cunningly-devised fable, would not the 



15 

divisions and animosities which existed from the earliest period 
among its human supporters have rendered any lengthened 
concealment of such imposture absolutely impossible ? Did 
not the constant reference made to the Apostolic writings, in 
the controversies waged from their days down to the present 
time, render the corruption of these writings a thing which 
could not be done without immediate detection ? — and would 
not Christianity have disappeared from the earth long ago, 
destroyed by the contentions of those who profess to defend it, 
had it not been preserved by the arm of God ? 

2. Pastors ought carefully to watch over the particular por- 
tion of the flock of Christ committed to them. Those who 
regard themselves as having no spiritual connection with any 
of the followers of the Lamb, excepting those who adopt the 
peculiar views of their own parly, are separatists. However 
numerous may be the persons holding such sentiments, they 
are but a sect, and their very exclusiveness declares them in a 
state of separation from the true Catholic Church of Christ, 
which consists not of those who vainly arrogate this name to 
themselves, but of all, in every land, of every name, of every 
tongue, and in every age, who have been really united to the 
Son of God, and sealed by his Spirit. This is, after all, the 
only association which can survive the stroke of death, by 
which all other distinctions are for ever destroyed. But, while 
the pastors whom Christ has sent forth have their only insepa- 
rable connection with the one holy universal Church, for which 
he gave himself a sacrifice, they would do well never to forget 
their connection with those particular Churches in which he 
has appointed them to labour. By forgetting their connection 
with the Church at large, they may imbibe feelings of narrow 
sectarianism, and on some occasions become the troublers of 
Israel, by urging unbecoming strife with those who are equally 
dear to Christ with themselves ; and, by neglecting- to seek 
the good of the particular Church in which God has placed 
them, they lose sight of the specific duty assigned to them, 
and mis-spend, in barren speculation, the time allotted them for 
a great and important work. Over whatever number of man- 
kind a pastor is called to watch, he should not forget that those 
among them who form part of the flock of Christ should be the 



16 

objects of his tender care, as they are of their gracious Lord, 
who calls himself " the Chief Shepherd." 

In order to feed " the flock," we must bear in mind that it 
is the Word of God, and not the word of man, by which they 
must be fed. And we are not at liberty to dwell on one doc- 
trine of this Word to the utter exclusion of others, or to dwell 
on the whole doctrines, to the utter exclusion of the precepts 
of the Gospel ; or to dwell on the duties of religion, to the 
entire exclusion of the spirit and feelings by which they ought 
to be pervaded. There may arise among "the flock" per- 
verted tastes, originating in various causes, which may demand 
to be fed in a very different way from what b{ the truth" directs. 
By refusing to comply with this demand, a pastor may find 
himself reduced to circumstances similar to those in which 
Paul was placed, when, notwithstanding the vehement love 
the Galatians once felt for him, they came to regard him as 
their " enemy," because he spoke " the truth." And sometimes 
injudicious advisers will insinuate, that he will best consult his 
own usefulness by complying with the tastes and wishes of the 
" flock" committed to him. But unhappy is the state of the 
pastor with whom such counsellings prevail. The peace of 
mind he once felt is, from that fatal moment, gone ; and he 
finds the popular favour he may have acquired a wretched 
compensation for what he has lost ; and he sees that minis- 
terial usefulness is not necessarily connected with an extensive 
following ; and he is doomed to behold his flock departing still 
further from the way in which he ought to have led them. If 
he would feed the flock of Christ, the pastor must hear what 
God says, and state the same with all clearness to his hearers, 
whether " they will hear, or whether they will forbear." The 
Word of God is that by which alone they can be made to grow 
in the varied parts of the divine life; to escape the many temp- 
tations by which they are surrounded ; and to become increas- 
ingly meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. 

To watch over a flock so prone to go astray is a matter of 
no common difficulty, and attended with many anxieties. 
The inconsistent lives of Christians, which prove so injurious 
to the Redeemer's cause in the world ; the spiritual difficulties 
with which many of them have to contend, and by which they 



17 

are often grievously afflicted ; and the backslidings by which 
others are brought to the verge of destruction are not unfre- 
quenily occasioned by the imperfect doctrine, and manifest 
unfaithfulness, of pastors. The man who recollects how very 
dear they all were to the Son of God, might well fear, 
when appointed to watch over such, lest injury should befal 
them through his sin or his inadvertency. The difficulties of 
the charge, the self-denial which it requires, and the train of 
anxieties which follow it, were present to the mind of our 
blessed Mascer, when He commanded Peter to evidence his 
love for Him by feeding His " sheep." Peter had thrice 
denied his Lord ; and bitter were the tears with which he 
bewailed this melancholy fall. His forgiving Master gra- 
ciously pardoned his offence, and received him again into His 
favour. But on one occasion, after His resurrection, He put 
to him the affecting question — " lovest thou me." Thrice He 
repeated the inquiry, and as often Peter earnestly declared 
that he did love Him. When He had called forth this strong 
expression of attachment, He required the performance of a 
certain duty, in proof of the reality and strength of his love. 
And what He required was none of the austerities which 
superstition dictates — and none of the self-inflicted tortures 
which mistaken devotion has invented — and none of those 
acts which strike the human imagination by the semblance of 
heroic daring ; — but what He required was, the feeding of His 
" sheep" and His " lambs," which He well knew, if faithfully 
done, implied what nothing but the ardent love of Himself 
could move to undergo. 

3. Pastors are required to labour to increase the number of 
the subjects of Emmanuel. But who are His subjects ? Mul- 
titudes of those who cry out most strenuously in behalf of His 
crown and kingly authority, show, by the uniform tenor of 
their lives, that they are still at war with Him. All mankind, 
however differing in other respects, are, by nature, His ene- 
mies. Men may assume different creeds, become members of 
various Churches, profess the most earnest zeal for religion, and 
still continue rebels against His authority. Of all the inhabi- 
tants of this world, by far the most miserable are they who are 
thus circumstanced. Better far to have roamed with the beasts 
of the field, separated from the dignity and the responsibilities 

c 



18 

of man, than to have withstood this wondrous grace, and to 
have lived and died unchanged by this bleeding love. There 
are many objects which men esteem highly while they are under 
the delusive influence of the things that are now seen — all 
which are destined to appear as the veriest vanity when the vail 
is withdrawn which conceals eternity from the inhabitants of 
this earth. When that solemn period arrives, to have been a 
subject of Emmanuel will appear a far higher distinction than 
to have sat on the throne of kingdoms, or to have led embattled 
warriors to bloody victories ; — and all the distinctions of this 
transitory life, with all the gifts which God bestowed, however 
valuable, will only deepen the condemnation of those who, in 
the midst of all these, have resisted the power of that amazing 
love which blazed around the cross and the grave of the 
Father's brightest " Image." No look of pity will pass from 
the multitude of the redeemed, or the myriads of those who 
never fell, when the storm of wrath hurls such to the regions 
of darkness. But in this they will awfully see the terrible 
evil of sin, which was able to produce a hardness of heart 
which the brightest manifestation of the mercy of God was 
unable to soften. 

To turn the enemies of Christ into His subjects, is one 
arduous object for which the pastor is called to labour. 
To strive for no higher object than to bring men to range 
themselves under the banners of certain human leaders, though 
these may be the leaders of parties in the Church, is to spend 
our strength " in vain/' To make men believe, that, by 
lending their aid to such schemes of men, they are on the 
way to heaven, is to perpetrate a fearful fraud on immortal 
souls. But, to bring men really to obey the Gospel is a work 
which shall be fragrant in eternity, and bloom in freshness, 
millions of ages after the objects, in pursuit of which earthly 
ambition is now panting, shall have been swept away in indis- 
criminate ruin amidst the fires of the last conflagration. But 
how is this great work to be done ? The interests of ecclesi- 
astical parties can be promoted by appeals directed to the evil 
passions of fallen human nature. And in this partizan war- 
fare, human passions, when called forth by the perversion of 
the holiest motives, assume a fierceness greater than they ex- 
hibit in the pursuit of mere worldly objects, so that, often, the 



1$ 

most implacable of all strifes were those falsely termed reli- 
gious strifes ; and the bloodiest of all wars were those wrong- 
ously styled religious wars. But to turn men into subjects of 
Emmanuel, it is necessary that their very nature be changed, 
and not that their corruption be turned into a new channel. 
No power can accomplish this but the Gospel, brought home to 
the hearts of men by the convincing power of the Holy Ghost, 
and especially that wondrous doctrine, respecting u Christ 
crucified," round which all the other doctrines revolve, as a 
central luminary. By this they are turned to be the willing 
subjects of Emmanuel, who were formerly his willing enemies, 
How mean and contemptible are all the other objects for 
which men toil when compared with this* Souls thus con- 
verted to God are saved from a destruction which the imagi- 
nation of man vainly strives to fathom, and raised to a height 
of glory, in whose contemplation the human faculties are lost 
in bewilderment. Turned to God, they become the instru- 
ments of carrying forward the mighty progress of celestial 
mercy. No sooner does the sinner become himself the subject 
of this saving change, than he becomes intensely anxious that 
others should become sharers in the same grace. Whether 
the sphere of his service be the quiet retirement of some rural 
abode, known to few ; or whether he is called to occupy some 
of the most conspicuous situations in his country ; or whether 
he is sent forth to proclaim, in the great heathen wilderness, 
the unsearchable riches of Christ; the individual who has 
become a subject of Emmanuel becomes a fellow-worker with 
God in that work of mercy He is now carrying on among the 
dwellings of lost mankind. Men often talk as if the great 
object of a Church was to collect money for the furtherance of 
the Gospel, and as if the Church did its duty to the world most 
effectually which collected the largest quantity of gold for this 
purpose. But, though the money in 8 11 the mines of earth 
were gathered for this end, what would it avail if the genera- 
tion of holy, self-denying, humble, and devoted labourers, suited 
to the harvest ripening for eternity, had passed away ? Every 
one added to the number of those constrained by the love o* 
Christ is not only an addition made to the number of the saved, 
who shall shine as the stars in Emmanuel's diadem, but is an 
addition made to those who shall witness for Him when we are 



20 

gathered to our fathers, and to those who shall, in their several 
stations, labour and pray for the extension of His kingdom of 
grace among the inhabitants of the world. There may be large 
sums of money collected, by calling into activity various motives 
which have their origin in human depravity. But the true, 
undissembled anxiety for the conversion of lost sinners is only 
produced by that which turned the man in whom this dwells 
from the dominion of Satan to the liberty of the children of 
God. When we attentively consider the uniform tendency of 
true religion to seek its own extension, we cannot fail to see 
in every mind brought under its influence an instrument pre- 
pared for its propagation, in whatever sphere that mind may 
be destined to move. The humblest parent who led his chil- 
dren in the wa} r to immortality, and the distinguished man who 
subdued a whole people to the obedience of faith, received the 
most indispensable qualification for their important work from 
that Gospel, by which the Holy Ghost shed abroad in their 
hearts the love of God. 

The pastors who would behave themselves in the " House 
of God" as they ought to do, must act with a deep feeling of 
their own impotence, and an implicit dependence on Christ, 
in whose hands they are, and without whom they can do 
nothing. The command, " abide in me," addressed by the 
Son of God to all his followers, is one to which the pastors in 
the Church ought to give especial heed, as their duty is more 
arduous than that of others, being called, not only to work out 
their own salvation, but to labour for the salvation of those 
who hear them. Mighty are the influences with which they 
are called to contend — the universal enmity to the truth ex- 
isting in unrenewed minds, though concealed from the careless 
observer by many plausible disguises — the great amount of 
corruption still remaining in the hearts of those whom the 
mercy of God has subdued to himself — and the terrible spiri- 
tual power exercised by Satan over the mass of minds whom 
he leads captive according to his will. To hope either to save 
his own soul, or the souls of them that hear him, in the face 
of such an opposition as this, by the force of human talents, is 
quite visionary. Men may fill the Church of Christ with 
strife, and foster the corruption which remains in the people 






21 






of God, and please unconverted men to their ruin, without any 
instrumentality but that of man, And they may even per- 
suade the unthinking that these are not such immense evils as 
God declares them to he, but are doing real service to the 
cause of truth and righteousness. But, to do the work to 
which Christ calls those whom He sends as labourers unto His 
harvest strength must be derived from the Holy Ghost, in 
whose hand they all are humble instruments, and whose arm is 
able to make the weakest of those in whom He dwells mightier 
than all the powers of evil. His succour every pastor ought to 
seek constantly, by earnest supplication, and to cherish by 
humble walking with God, and the diligent study of His Word. 
And, amidst every discouragement, caused by the unreason- 
ableness of others, or by the waywardness of his own heart, his 
rejoicing ought to be, that he is honoured to be an instrument 
in carrying forward the work of celestial mercy. Soon the toils 
and anxieties of the labourer shall cease-— soon the struggles 
and conflict of the soldier shall be over — soon the Church of 
Christ shall appear in everlasting and unclouded glory — and 
then, " they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the 
stars, for ever and ever." 

My Reverend Fathers and Brethren ! I have been led thus 
to lay before you, and before myself, a subject of a very solemn 
nature. Our lot has fallen in times when occurrences are 
continually taking place, fitted to awaken very painful feelings 
in all who love the Church of God. May this lead you and 
me to " make full proof" of our " ministry," and to take not 
from any body of men, but from the inspired record, our direc- 
tion how to conduct ourselves in the " Church of the Living 
God !" What success shall attend us in our work is known 
to God, on whose will this absolutely depends. The prophetic 
word has long seemed to me pointing out our gradual approach 
to a period not far distant now, when " the truth " shall sustain 
a fearful obscuration over the whole world, preparatory to that 
brilliant triumph when the " earth shall be full of the know- 
ledge of the Lord," and when " there shall be nothing to hurt 
or destroy in all * God's Holy Mountain/ " Our simple duty 
is to be faithful to the charge committed to us. When the 



22 

breath of man's applause or of man's censure can reach us no 
more, it would be a thing fearful beyond expression to hear 
Him whose name we were honoured to bear, say to us, in lan- 
guage of terrible import, " depart, I know you not," and to have 
required of us the " blood " of souls perished by our neglect, 
or by our self-seeking, time-serving, or men-pleasing doctrine, 
or by any of the various ways by which we may delude men 
as to their present state and future prospects ; — and it will then 
be soothing beyond expression to have addressed to us the 
" well done" of the great Head of the Church, who once for us 
was " despised and rejected of men," and whom we shall then 
see encircled with glory, holding in his hand the changeless 
destiny of all the human race, a destiny of everlasting life or 
never-dying contempt. Many of His calumniated and perse- 
cuted servants, whose names men cast out as evil, have already 
felt this " well done" produce sensations of thrilling joy, such 
as to cause one moment of this feeling outweigh all the suffer- 
ings which, for His sake, they bore. 

My dear hearers ! Though you are not placed in the awfully 
responsible position of pastors in the Church, recollect that, if 
you are really the followers of Christ, you are in the " House of 
God," where He dwells, and on which His eye is continually 
resting. You would do well always to bear in mind, that, in 
fulfilling the duty of your station in the Church, you are acting 
under His immediate observation, whose favour is better than 
life, and whose frown is worse than death, and this, that you 
may continue stedfast where many are moved to and fro by 
the shifting winds of human opinion. Your business is not to 
please men, as members of an earthly society ; but as members 
of His one undivided Church, to please Him, who purchased 
you with his own blood. And when you think of the office 
and dangers of those who are called to watch for your souls, 
pray for them daily — bearing in mind that, if they prove un- 
faithful, great will be the evil to themselves, and great, also, 
will be the evil to them that hear them. Did professing Chris- 
tians devote half the time to prayer for their pastors which 
they too often spend in unreasonably censuring them, and thus 
heedlessly weakening their strength in their momentous and 
difficult work, it would bring glory to God and real good to a 
sinful world. Bnt if you are not the followers of Christ, do, 



I 



23 



I beseech you, pause and consider your actual condition. Pro= 
posals of amazing mercy have been addressed to you by the 
God whom you have offended, and you have heedlessly or 
wilfully rejected them. These proposals are this day addressed 
to you anew, and if you reject them now, they may never be 
within your reach again. But your voices may be heard 
amidst the wailings of perished millions, who were lost for 
evermore, because life and death were once set before them, 
and they chose death. If you inquire what you ought to do, 
take care that you be not deceived in a matter of such vast 
importance. You may join any one of the many sects into 
which the Church has been unhappily divided, and show an 
ardent zeal for its peculiar objects, and, after all, lift up your 
eyes at last in hell. There is no way to be saved but one, 
" believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," who gives to as many 
as " receive 5 ' Him, by whatever name men may call them, 
" power to become the sons of God. " Listen not to the vain 
imagination that you must make yourselves better before you 
can close with the gracious offer made to you by a pitying 
Saviour. While refusing Him, you will daily grow worse and 
worse, notwithstanding every human contrivance. But the 
moment you really receive Him, His Spirit will enter into 
your soul : you will become a " new creature ;" angels will 
rejoice over you; and God himself will say that you were 
" lost," but now are " found." Delay not a moment longer : 
your eternal weal or your eternal woe may depend on the de- 
cision to which you now come. The choice you now make 
may be remembered by you for ever with songs of undying 
gratitude, or with shuddering groans of unavailing anguish. 

Members, Office-bearers, and Friends of the Church of 
Scotland ! Give me leave to charge you now, in the name 
of Him whom this Church has always acknowledged as its 
only Head, that, in your several stations, you seek the welfare 
of this important portion of His vineyard. The Church of 
Scotland has passed through many trials of various descrip- 
tions, and by affliction it has uniformly benefited. As in the 
case of individual Christians, its seasons of great prosperity 
have often been seasons of manifold forgetfulness, wandering, 
and sin ; and out of the fire it has come, acknowledging that 
it was good to have been afflicted. Severe has been the trial 



) 



24 



through which it has recently passed, and afflicting has been 
the stroke which separated from us many whom we loved as 
brethren. Still, it is matter of thankfulness that, though 
bereaved of many of her children, the Church of Scotland is, 
in her constitution, doctrine, and government, the same as in 
generations past, when she numbered among her pastors some 
of the brightest luminaries in the Protestant Church, and 
experienced abundant tokens of the favour of God. We have 
much reason to blend feelings of gratitude with the sorrow 
which fills us in the contemplation of what we have witnessed. 
But never should we forget that each of us is called on to con- 
sider the evils which have drawn down on us so painful a 
visitation, in order that we may labour strenuously for their 
removal wherever our influence extends. Pride, unfruit- 
fulness, strife, lukewarmness, trusting in men, want of mutual 
love, unfaithfulness, and other things of the same kind, have 
often moved God to chasten his Churches. If our recent 
trials shall make us, as a Church, more watchful against these, 
it shall be truly said, that they brought forth in us " the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness ; " and the Church we venerate 
shall shine brighter than ever, and be more than ever the 
greatest glory and most valued institution of Scotland, and one 
of the fairest daughters of the Reformation. And when at last 
God numbers his people, may it be said of many multitudes, 
that here they were brought, not to the narrow limits of sec- 
tarian association, but into the one family of the " Living God !" 
When adverse circumstances, befalling any Church, increase 
its holiness, dependence in God, and weanedness from depen- 
dence on men, however eminent, they prepare it for increasing 
usefulness in the hand of God. May this be seen in the future 
history of our own time-honoured Zion, for which a host of 
martyrs bled in stormier days, and which the most unsullied 
patriots this country ever saw, watered with their latest 
prayers ! Amen. 



Printed at the Courier Office, Inverneas. 



LIBRARY OF 



CONGRESS 



#< 



022 168 940 9 



